"We were strolling around Seattle one day," Diana Chang recounts of how her college sweetheart, Jerry Trac, proposed in their hometown. "And the next thing I knew, we were surrounded by all of our friends. Jerry handed me one of our Yorkies, who was wearing a T-shirt that read, 'Marry my daddy!'"

With the couple's families scattered throughout California, New York, Texas, and Taiwan, a destination wedding was on the horizon. Having always wanted to get married on the beach, Diana and Jerry found picture-perfect paradise on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. "Hawaii was the first vacation we ever took together as a couple, so it was a natural choice for our wedding," says the bride. The ceremony and reception were held on Oct. 4, 2011, at the Ocean Front Oasis Estates in Honolulu. "We figured if everyone had to travel, it might as well be to somewhere fun."

Asking guests to travel was not as big of a challenge as Diana imagined it would be. "Don't underestimate how far people will travel for your wedding," she advises brides-to-be. "We never expected almost a hundred guests to say yes to Hawaii—we had to move to a bigger site to accommodate them all!"

The reception was held at the same picturesque spot as the ceremony. "The oceanfront location was so perfect, we decided to have the ceremony, cocktail hour, and dinner all in one place," says Diana.

But dinner, with its Hawaiian-inspired menu, was by far the most important piece of the puzzle, the bride says. When asked what the couple's biggest priority for the wedding was, Diana didn't hesitate with her answer. "Definitely food! We had a buffet with Pacific Rim options like blackened island fish and tropical salsa and braised kimchee beef—yum."

The party's round table numbers were decorated with a sea-inspired sand-dollar pattern to reflect the surrounding environment.

As a creative personal touch (and cost-cutting method), Diana decided to have the tables decorated with macarons instead of traditional flower centerpieces. "Our wedding planner, Diana Caro-Salvador, knew that I love macarons, so she displayed them on cake stands," says the bride.

The guests partied into the night. Some of the guys hit the cigar bar—but not before busting some unique moves. One of Jerry's friends got down low during a particularly fun dance number. "It's his signature move," says Diana.

While their friends had a blast, the couple found time for a quiet, romantic moment on the dance floor. "The last song was K-Ci and JoJo's 'All My Life,'" says the bride. "When the DJ played it, our friends and family surrounded us and sang along. We felt so loved."